February 2023

AGU Seismology Section News (February 2023)

(0) Introduction

Our thoughts are with those in Turkey and Syria who have lost their lives in the most recent devastating earthquake sequence. Our section is committed to helping seismologists pursue monitoring and research in seismic hazard mapping, early warning earthquake engineering and in supporting engineers and planners to develop better buildings and to build them in the safest spots, as well as to develop our understanding of the Earth and earthquake process. 

Our research takes leaps and bounds when instrumentation improves, so we hope that those of you who are currently graduate students, or know somebody who is a graduate student studying geophysical instrumentation will consider to apply or encourage applications to the relatively new Jerome M. Paros Scholarship in Instrumentation administered by AGU. This provides $5,000 to three students every year. Last year the winners were Clarissa DeLeon, Carlos Becerril and  Yuesu Jin, described here. This year the deadline is the same as for all the AGU awards, 12 April.  Please learn more here on the website.

If you can, please consider volunteering for our section, nominating colleagues for honors, nominating an engaged seismologist for a volunteer position such as serving on a section award selection committee, convening a session for the AGU23 in San Francisco. Anyone in section leadership (see signatures) would be happy to discuss options and questions with you.

Our gratitude goes to everyone who volunteered for the Seismology section in 2022. You were thanked during the Fall Meeting's joint Seismology and Tectonophysics Business Meeting. Those who completed service on an AGU Seismology committee (but may be continuing on another) are: Kasey Aderhold, Greg Beroza, Sanne Cottaar, Colleen Dalton, Megan Flanagan, Jiaqi Li, Qinya Liu, David Lumley, Tolulope Olugboji, German Prieto, Jay Pulliam, Zachary Ross, Pritom Sarma, Anne Sheehan, Nate Stevens, Maya Tolstoy, Liam Toney, Suzan van der Lee, Emily Wolin. Thanks so much for all your help!  Your work has helped to enrich our community.

We are pleased to announce that seismologist Ruth Harris was selected as one of the AGU's College of Fellows 2023 Distinguished Speaker.

Lastly, we tip our hats in gratitude to those of you who donated to the Seismology section of AGU. Your donations are providing opportunities to enhance the depth and breadth of research for any and all seismologists.

(1)  2022 Outstanding Student Presentation Award Winners (OSPA)

Many thanks to the seismology community for making the Outstanding Student Presentation Awards program run smoothly in 2022! It is a valuable opportunity for students to receive constructive feedback on their presentations at the Fall Meeting. We are especially grateful to the 87 seismologists who served as judges for 92 student talks and posters. 

 

(2) 2023 AGU Honors Nominations

The nomination for all AGU honors this year is the same: 12 April (this includes Fellows, Section Awards, and Union medals, awards, and prizes). Nominations opened on 18 January and it is never to early to start thinking about putting together a strong package with varied support letters.

Visit AGU's online nomination submission platform.

There are quite a few medals and awards that you might not even realize exist. For example, AGU has three new AGU Honors this year. Read about updates to the AGU Honors program. Rewarding excellence in scientific research, education and outreach strengthens our science and can further its impact and value to society.

We encourage you, if you can, to nominate one or more outstanding seismologists, including those who have accomplished extraordinary things but have remained out of the limelight. There is a wide range of honors for a wide range of accomplishments. At the bottom of this section we include brief descriptions, which you can find more about here.

If you know of a deserving candidate but for some reason cannot nominate them, please feel free to contact any member of the Seismology Section Canvassing Committee listed below. If you don't have time to nominate someone this year, it's not too early to start thinking about next year!

2023 Seismology Section Canvassing Committee: Jim Mori (Chair), Anne Sheehan, Beatrice Magnani, Jay Pulliam, Jenne Hardebeck and Cesar Ranero.

-Gutenberg Lecture
The Gutenberg Lecture is the named lecture in seismology given annually at the December AGU Meeting. This is an opportunity for us to show exciting results from seismological research to the larger AGU community. Please submit suggestions for the 2023 Gutenberg Lecturer by 12 April 2023 to the committee chair Suzan van der Lee with the subject line "Gutenberg Lecture Nomination." A paragraph summarizing the rationale and qualifications will suffice. This is the only honor that does not go through the AGU Honors platform.

-Paros Scholarship:  See the second paragraph of this newsletter

-Keiiti Aki Early Career Award
The Keiiti Aki Early Career Award recognizes the scientific accomplishments of early career scientists in the field of seismology. Nominees for this award should be a member of AGU with a primary affiliation in the Seismology Section. Please  submit nominations.

-Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service
The Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service is given annually to an AGU member with a primary affiliation in the Seismology, Geodesy, or Tectonophysics Sections who has excelled in mentoring of junior colleagues, leadership of community research initiatives, or other forms of unselfish collaboration in research. Nominations should be submitted through this link by 12 April 2023.

-Union Fellows
Nominations for 2023 Fellows can be submitted via the AGU website. Nominations will first be reviewed by the Fellows Committee for each Section. Section recommendations are then sent on to the Union Fellows Committee who will make the final determination. Becoming a Union Fellow is a competitive process. Please do not let that discourage you from nominating seismologist, especially one who has demonstrated scientific eminence and whose leadership aligns with AGU values of broad, respectful collaboration. There is still time (until April 12)!

-Union Medals and Awards
Union medals and awards that are often of interest to seismologists include the Macelwane, Simpson, Lehmann, Bucher, Bowie, Ewing, Whitten, Lal Memorial and Hess Medals and the Smith, Ambassador, Flinn, Africa, Kaula, International, Falkenberg, Science for Solutions, Spilhaus, and Excellence in Geophysical Education Awards. Nominations for Union Medals and Awards are not reviewed at the Section level. Nominations should be submitted through the AGU website. We look forward to seeing many seismologists being honored!

AGU wants to make sure there is time and flexibility for participants to put together quality nomination packages while at the same time balancing the needs of the program and taking into consideration the time needed for volunteers to review nominations. Therefore, there will not be an opportunity to extend past the 12 April date.

(3) AGU23 Call for Session Proposals

AGU23 will be held 11-15 December in San Francisco, CA and online everywhere.

You can help lead the future of seismology by submitting an AGU23 proposal by 12 April 2023. This is a unique opportunity to gather and hear from experts around one of your favorite research topics.

We are seeking proposals for general scientific sessions, union sessions, innovations, town halls and scientific workshops. Proposals can focus on research results, their applications, or the impact of seismology on society.

We encourage AGU23 proposals that include a diverse group of conveners and session chairs. We celebrate diversity in race, geographic region, ethnicity and gender as well as background, perspective, career stage, and scientific discipline.

View the full submission details as well as tips and tricks on the AGU23 website and submit your proposal by 12 April.

If you have questions about finding co-conveners or what type of session best fits your topic, please reach out to Wenyuan Fan and Heather Ford, Seismology representatives on the 2023 Fall Meeting Program Committee.
 
AGU Seismology Section President
Rachel Abercrombie
AGU Seismology Section President-Elect
AGU Seismology Section Past-President
AGU Seismology Section Past-Secretary
AGU Seismology Section Secretary
Fall Meeting Program Committee
Early-Career Member and Communications Specialist
Student Members of Seismology Section Executive Committee